Writing a Diversity Statement

Lilien Voong, Ph.D.Hanna Song, Ph.D.October 21, 2020

Learning Outcomes:

After today’s workshop you will be able to:

• 1. Define components of a diversity workshop.

• 2. Understand the various approaches you can take to write a diversity statement.

• 3. Know the steps for writing your own diversity statement

What is Diversity?

Merriam-Webster: diversitiesthe condition of having or being composed of differing elements : variety; especially : the inclusion of different types of people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization <programs intended to promote diversity in schools>

Identity Diversity predicates and is fundamental to achieving Intellectual Diversity

Factors that have played a role in where you are today:

• Race• Ethnicity • Gender • Sexuality • Nationality/ Country of Origin • Ability • Untraditional/Traditional Family status • Socioeconomic Status • Education • Religion/Spirituality • Upbringing• Relationship status

Awareness of our individual identities and the identities of those around us in our community help us…

Combats isolation

Promotes academic and workplace achievement

Improves communication

Enhances community building

Allows for innovation, efficiency, and effectiveness in teams

Please note

Your social identities (race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, abilities etc.) are not in question, you are being asked how you will contribute to the advancement of your field of interest and to explain how you will support an appreciation for the contributions of all members of that academic community.

Caltech Diversity Statement Prompt

In addition to the materials noted above, applicants should also submit a one-page diversity statement that discusses past or future contributions to inclusive excellence in the areas of research, teaching and/or outreach.

Diversity Statement Rubrics

• Understanding of DEI in Higher Education/STEM• Knowledge of DEI• Track Record in Advancing DEI• Research• Teaching/Mentoring• Collaboration and Leadership• Service, Engagement and/or Outreach

Where to begin?

Research!

• University/College’s Website on DEI

• Institutional Research Page

• Centers for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• Departmental Websites dedicated to DEI

• Common Data Set/IPEDS

A few different approaches:

• Do you work with a diverse range of students in the classroom?

• How do you incorporate diversity into your teaching materials and methods?

• How has your personal background equipped you to work within diverse communities? • Beyond teaching, can you discuss how you have or will administratively support diversity?

ØDo the implications of your research address diversity? Show your work-- don’t tell, how diversity informs your approach (to teaching and mentorship). Be sure to include details of accomplishments and how they relate to your commitment to diversity, rather just than a list of courses or ways you have been involved.

Teach

• Ground rules

• Don’t make assumptions/normalize use of services across campus

• How will students give you feedback?

• Learn names & pronounce names correctly (practice!)

• How is your grading system set up? • Expectations • Rewards for mastery over time

• Address and correct occurrences of microaggressions in class settings, no matter how they arise’

• What are inclusive materials and interactive strategies? • Available online?• Visual, text, spoken?• Verbal/ non verbal responses? • Use different pronouns, origin of names in

cases/problems?

• Avoid language that may trigger stereotype threat--added stress that tends to reduce performance when people feel at risk of confirming a negative stereotype about their social, cultural, or other facet of identity.

Research:

• “When discussing the history of the field, check to see if diverse researchers are represented. While there may be a history of over or under-representation, you can make the field's existing diversity more visible by including researchers' first names or photos.”’

How will you promote diversity within your lab/communities?

How have you seen this done? Examples from research where this has been done successfully

Service:

• What will be your approach to hiring committees?

• Admissions committees?

• How can you show that your values will lead you to consider diversity and why that would even be beneficial CTLO – great resource https://www.teachlearn.caltech.edu/resources/diversity

Everyone can write a diversity statement.

Undergraduates Graduate Students

Post-docs Faculty

Staff

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Reframing Questions as Communication Goals

Reframe your Diversity Statement as a rhetorical document that should meet a set of communication goals—rather than a checklist of questions you have to answer.

• Freedom in choosing the experiences that will best demonstrate these qualities and how you might organize this information.

• Draft a statement that will work for many universities and organization.

If a university/program has a unique set of important questions, you will need to tailor your statement to address those questions.

Communication Goals of Diversity Statement

In your examination, you will likely discover that many of the prompts are asking you to communicate the following:

• How your experiences/background have shaped your perspective

• Your understanding of the barriers that historically excluded groups have faced in higher education, your specific discipline/field, and in the broader community

• How you’ve committed to diversity or engaged in the conversations and efforts of diversity, equity, and inclusion

• How you’ve contributed or will contribute to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in your field, university, and community

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Draw Meaning From Experiences

How do I meet my communication goals?

What do I write about to get there?

Illustration: Ally Jaye Reeves

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Mentored high school student in my lab - teaching and appreciation for benefits of diversity

An upbringing where education was valued, privilegedBoth of my parents have higher degrees

RISE tutor

I have good grades

I’m the captain of the track team

Led outreach efforts for IGEM team- leadership, initiative, shaped understanding of my responsibility toward diversity

- leadership, working with and supporting diverse groups with different physical abilities

I’m hardworking and smart

- experience teaching underrepresented students- familiarized with challenges I don’t personally face

✔

Show my potential to contribute

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EXAMPLE! Remember, certain experiences that are meaningful to one person may not be as meaningful to you. Both the meaning/values assigned to each experience and the checkmarks under the Communication Goals represent subjective evaluations of this person’s experiences. This example should not be taken to mean that there is a right and wrong way to weigh your experiences.

First-gen college and grad student Understand the challenges of not having support from parents or family

Taught to diverse group with different backgrounds and learning needs

Created my own seminar course for freshman biology

TA’d for Molecular Biology, Virology in grad school

Mentored undergrads in lab

Founded the Women Leaders in Life Sciences

Attend the Diversity Center’s seminars on diversity and equity

Shows my awareness and engagement in the topics relevant to DEI, and my interest in learning

Shows contributions to advancing women in STEM into positions of power

I have experience teaching and see the importance mentorship, especially with underrepresented youth

Exposed me to different and allowed me to adjust my teaching style to suit their learning needs

✔

Shows off my leadership skills

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Volunteer with K-12 in STEM Recent experience but shows that I am contributing to the community outside of the university ✔ ✔ ✔

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EXAMPLE! Remember, certain experiences that are meaningful to one person may not be as meaningful to you. Both the meaning/values assigned to each experience and the checkmarks under the Communication Goals represent subjective evaluations of this person’s experiences. This example should not be taken to mean that there is a right and wrong way to weigh your experiences.

Reflect on Your Meaning Making

Reflect on the experiences you listed in the Diversity Statement Meaning Making Worksheet and how you evaluated them.

• Can you see how you might separate and group your experiences?

• Can you logically connect different experiences?

• Can you organize these experiences in an order that makes sense?

• Can you see what experience can easily find a home in your statement and which do not?

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Reminder: You don’t need to include everything you listed in your Meaning Making Worksheet.Be selective in what you incorporate into your statement. If you write at length about an experience that meets only one goal, you may be sacrificing space for an experience that meets multiple goals.

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Reminder: Your statement does not consists solely of the experiences in your Meaning Making Worksheet.

For example, any discussion of future goals will not make it onto the worksheet.

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Customizing Your Statement

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Source: Beth Kobliner

Customize your Diversity Statement to every school/program.

• Research the university: read their diversity mission statement (and guidelines), find relevant organizations, and DEI efforts.

• Tie your past contributions and efforts into future goals that align with the school’s.

• Pay attention to the unique community makeup / student body of the university or organization.

• Focus on tailoring only small parts of the statement. You likely will not need to write a new statement for every application.

Customizing Your Statement

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Where to Customize

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• Customize just about anywhere.

• Conclusion (following a traditional story arc).

• Bookend the statement at the top and bottom.

• Weave customizations into the body of the statement following specific experiences.

Fill Out and Break Out1. Take 5 minutes to fill out the Meaning Making Worksheet.

2. Breakout into smaller groups for discussion (10 min):

• Share 1 meaningful experience you will definitely use for your diversity statement:

• Why was this experience meaningful? What was the value from this experience?

• How did you evaluate this experience and why?

• Share 1 experience that you may be uncertain about or have questions regarding (e.g. Is it relevant? How will it sound? How do I write about this in a way that is still positive?)

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Don’ts:

Using slang or derogatory language

Using legal jargon

Blame, Shame, or Self-deprecate

Express Pity

Savior complex

Your presence will be enough to transform the community

Consider this:

• Challenges: o Too genericoDoes not relate to the overall issue

of Diversity in STEMoDoes not connect personal identity

to issues associated with the challenge of diversity in STEM and thus is not considering that this person may be a part of the solution.

• Success:oPresents a global connection to

the challenge of diversity in STEM.oPresents the expectation that his

research interests will contribute to a body of knowledge.

oPersonalizes the answer and includes himself in the community and is then a part of the challenge and the solution.

Resources for further reading

• Handbook on Diversity and the Law: Navigating a complex landscape to foster greater faculty and student diversity in higher education

• https://www.aaas.org/sites/default/files/LawDiversityBook.pdf

• How do you read a Diversity Statement? • https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2018/05/15/advice-reading-and-assessing-diversity-statements-when-hiring-opinion

• The Effective Diversity Statement • https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2016/06/10/how-write-effective-diversity-statement-essay

• Demystifying the Diversity Statement • https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2018/01/25/how-write-effective-diversity-statement-job-candidate-opinion

Diversity Rubrics• https://ofew.berkeley.edu/recruitment/contributions-diversity/rubric-assessing-candidate-

contributions-diversity-equity-and

• https://diversity.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/Diversity%20Statement%20Evaluation%20Rubric%20-%20Rutgers%20STRIDE%20Resource.pdf

• http://facultydevelopment.cornell.edu/rubric-assessing-candidate-on-diversity-equity-and-inclusion/

•• https://www.equity.socsci.uci.edu/files/docs/faculty-diversity-statements.pdf•• https://www.washington.edu/diversity/faculty-advancement/handbook/assessment/•